U.S. stock futures firm; eye weekly gains

Nike, Tiffany fall on earnings miss

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — In a week likely to be remembered for Janet Yellen’s comments, solid economic data and Ukraine uncertainty, U.S. stock futures on Friday indicated a firmer open and pointed to a strong weekly advance.

With no major data releases on tap, corporate news and Fed speakers are likely to claim most of investors’ attention.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average
US:DJM4
gained 25 points, or 0.2%, to 16,290, while those for the S&P 500 index
US:SPM4
rose 4.3 points, or 0.2%, to 1,870.40. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index
US:NDM4
advanced 11 points, or 0.3%, to 3,702.50.

Joao Monteiro, analyst at Valutrades, said gains in Asia provided a positive lead for U.S. markets and that “it’s perhaps no surprise that Wall Street is looking to build on yesterday’s gains.” He also pointed to the Federal Reserve’s bank stress tests released late Thursday that showed the banking sector is in better shape then it was a few years ago.

Obama ordering fresh sanctions on Russia

“And there’s little that’s likely to cause any disruption in terms of economic data today, either. There may be some scope for end-of-week position keeping as we’re sitting on some modest gains, but as it looks right now, it could well prove to be a rather muted session,” he said in a note.

All three benchmarks were set for weekly gains of around 2%, after closing higher most days of the week. However, the market was hit after Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen on Wednesday spooked investors by signaling a rate hike could come as soon as the spring of 2015.

There’s no data on Friday, but several Federal Reserve speakers are on tap. Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota released a statement on his dissent from the Fed’s latest policy statement.

“The first reason [I dissented] is that new guidance weakens the credibility of FOMC’s commitment to target 2% inflation,” Kocherlakota wrote in a statement released at 9 a.m. Eastern Friday. “The second reason is that new guidance fosters policy uncertainty and thereby suppresses economic activity.”

Chicago Fed President Charles Evans will deliver “opening remarks” at health care conference in Chicago, but there will be no discussion of economy or policy.

Former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will discuss a paper on Abenomics at the Brookings Institution at 10 a.m. Eastern, while St. Louis Fed President James Bullard discusses a paper on debt and financial markets at the Brookings Institution at 11:45 a.m. Eastern. Bullard will also participate on a panel in Washington on whether Fed bond-buying is sowing seeds of future financial instability at 2:15 p.m. Eastern.

Shares of Nike Inc.
NKE, +0.12%
were down 3.3% in premarket trade after the company late Thursday reported fiscal third-quarter adjusted profit above analysts’ forecast. Sales increased 13%, but the shoe giant warned that a stronger dollar will remain a drag on earnings.

Symantec Corp.
SYMC, +0.90%
slid 9.7% ahead of the open, after the security-software maker fired Chief Executive Steve Bennett late Thursday and replaced him with board member Michael Brown.

In earnings news on Friday, Tiffany & Co.
TIF, -0.49%
shares fell 1.9%, after the company swung to a fourth-quarter loss of 81 cents. On an adjusted basis, the company earned $1.47 a share, but was projected to report earnings of $1.51 a share, according to a consensus survey by FactSet.

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